Bath Area Play Project

 

Hut Pre-school

► Soft Play Room, Sensory Room, Garden designed by children ◄

 

 
 

General Information

Bath Area Play Project provide a high quality early years service based at The Hut in Twerton, Bath.

 

The Pre-school is registered with OFSTED to provide sessional care for children from 18 months to school age. All staff are qualified to Level 3 in Early Years and / or Playwork, with the Lead worker holding a Early Years Foundation degree and hold current Paediatric First Aid certificates as well as Basic Food Hygiene certificates. At the last OFSTED inspection we received a Satisfactory rating, out of Poor, Satisfactory or Good and the Inspector made many favourable comments about the quality of the setting with Good gradings across safeguarding and keeping children safe demonstrate our commitment to the children’s welfare.

“The response from parents is positive and staff are available for discussion at the end of sessions. Clear information regarding the provision is given to the parents before their children start. Staff are friendly and know the children well.”

OFSTED Inspector August 2009

 

The Hut is open 9am - 3pm Monday to Friday term time only. The day is split into 2 sessions; 9 – 11.30am and 12.30pm - 3pm. There is a wraparound lunch session 11.30 – 12.30pm each day which parents can use to add on to either a morning or afternoon session or extend the day.

 

It provides children from 18 months the opportunity to play freely within a safe environment with appropriate adult support. There are more structured play opportunities according to the age of the children attending the sessions. The purpose is to provide stimulating play opportunities, recognised by Sure Start as a main objective for children to reach their full potential.

 

Children must be registered by the parent or carer who can request sessions they would like by completing the table on the registration form.

 

 

Download the Hut Pre-school registration form here

Download the Hut Pre-school booking form here

 

 

We operate a waiting list to ensure that everyone who wishes to use the Pre-school has the chance to do so. Children can also be referred to the Pre-school from Social Services and other agencies.

 

Where children stay for a lunchtime session, parents and carers need to provide a healthy packed lunch. During the morning and afternoon sessions, children are provided with a drink and fruit or healthy snacks.

The Pre-School is used by people for different reasons including:

The staff team are experienced and well qualified and provide children with a supportive and caring environment for play. Children are individually cared for with a keyworker system, supporting their development through a mixture of structured and free play activities.

 

We have a fantastic resource for pre-school children at the Hut with a specific carpeted room with Home Corner, dressing up, books and tapes, a huge selection of toys and equipment, a further play room with play equipment, a room for messier play including painting, sticking and glitter, a soft play room and a wonderful garden with bikes, trikes and other ride-ons, fixed play equipment - a slide, tower to climb and wobbly bridge. A bike track, places to hide and plenty of water and sand!

 

There is a charge of £8.75 per session.

 

Quality of Care

Parents or Carers find out about the service generally through word of mouth although we have leaflets available in different places throughout the area including Doctor’s Surgeries, Shops and Community Buildings.

 

Parents and Carers self refer to the service but are also referred by Health Visitors and Social Workers. Parents and Carers use the Early Years service for many different reasons including; health reasons (22%), to provide quality care for children where parent is alcohol or drug dependant (7%), to provide opportunity for children to develop social skills and communication (21%), to provide time out for parents or carers (34%), to enable parents to keep appointments (7%) and to enable parents or carers to work part time or attend a training course (35%)

 

Some parents have commented on the quality of the provision in comparison with others they have experienced and we often have families who return to us after trying different provision and preferring the Hut.

 

On our current register there are 27% of parents who are single and 38% under 25 years of age. 3.6% of parents are Lone Fathers.

We have had a very positive parent evaluation with high satisfaction levels of both the staff knowledge (100%) and staff attitude (96%) as well as the building location (96%) and the equipment and resources (100%).

 

Overall the service is performing well

We have learnt since providing the service that there are many varied reasons why parents and carers use this service; for all of them the quality of the care and interaction their children have with the staff is of paramount importance.

 

Parents and carers are respected and valued no matter what their background; parents who arrive in dressing gowns and slippers are treated with dignity and not made to feel any different to those well dressed and made up. Everybody is made to feel welcome and for many parents, having the crèche has helped them normalise and stabilise life where everything else has been chaotic around them.

 

Parents who tear their hair out with exasperation at their seemingly inability to control their child are supported; staff encourage use of different strategies for behaviour management. Parents who are incredibly anxious at leaving their child are supported to do so gradually in their own time; some go on to get involved voluntarily with children.

 

Where parents request support, advice and help, is is given in a non-judgemental way. Where staff feel parents would benefit from knowing others are going through the same thing, this is shared confidentially.

 

The Hut treasures every child

that comes through the door and we endeavour to make every parent and carer feel special too. We have learnt that having local staff from the local community greatly enhances the quality of the service which in turn values the local community and gives a clear message about valuing staff and volunteers.

 

We understand that the demand for an alternative to childcare is what is needed; parents do not necessarily work, they just want a break and quality time for themselves whilst acknowledging that their child benefits from playing alongside or with other children